Valders boys seek 1st state crown since 1989

Valders' Jacob Pattee and the rest of the Vikings have their sights set on the WIAA Division 2 boys state cross country championship, held Saturday in Wisconsin Rapids.(Photo: Josh Clark/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

With all the hype, Dietrich is careful to remind his runners anything is possible.

“It’s just a matter of staying focused because they don’t open the bus doors and hand you a trophy,” Dietrich said. “Other teams know this and are going to try and beat us. We just have to beat them instead.”

Still, it’s clear what the objective is Saturday.

“Our goal is to change that silver trophy into a gold trophy. That was the goal since the state meet ended last year,” Dietrich said.

Should Valders accomplish the feat, it would be the first state boys cross-country title for the school since the Vikings won back-to-back championships in 1988 and 1989.

Individual, team glory

The Cedar Grove-Belgium boys and Random Lake/Ozaukee girls will both be competing in their respective Division 2 races, with similar agendas.

The Rockets are led by Stephen Lavey, while the co-op is paced by Elise Large.

Both runners won sectional titles and are expected to do will in Wisconsin Rapids.

“I think she has the ultimate opportunity to do well. The expectation is to be in the top 10 for sure,” Random Lake/Ozaukee coach Stephanie Ohme said of Large.

First-year Cedar Grove-Belgium coach Brandon Langer has comparable thoughts about his own standout.

“One of his goals all year was to get in the top 10 and reach the podium,” Langer said. “We’ve been working on his finishing kicks to make sure he has the ability to close out strong.”

Even though their sights might be set on individual glory, having their teammates alongside them on the course will be a huge bonus.

“Racing for your team as opposed to solely racing for yourself is an added boost,” Langer said.

“It’s helped even the last couple days of practice having her teammates around,” Ohme said. “It’s not as stressful because the focus is on others, not just yourself.”

Youthful exuberance

For a second straight season, the Manitowoc Lutheran boys qualified as a team for state.

It’s not something Lancers coach Abbey Bubolz says the team is overlooking.

“Definitely exciting going back-to-back because it’s never a gimme since anything can happen,” Bubolz said.

Lutheran has qualified as a team four out of seven seasons, which is promising as all but one runner of the nine heading to Wisconsin Rapids is either a sophomore or freshman.

“It’s a combination of things we hope to continue because the boys want to be a part of something special,” Bubolz said. “They act like junior and senior runners despite their youth.”

Bubolz expects the Lancers to continue to grow, given her top returning runners are so young.

“My sophomores are my veteran returners, which isn’t usually the case,” Bubolz said.